If you've got a tripod, one way of getting stunning pictures is by visiting somewhere at night where there's lots of bright lights (preferably colourful) and snapping away. Even on auto mode, the pictures can be quite rewarding - although it's best to set a longer exposure manually, so that more of the details turn out.

Here's an example of one I did recently over the freeway - this one is made more interesting by the head/tail lights of passing cars leaving a streak. I used a 2 second exposure time.